to be alarmed about this dentist?

[parakeet]

Just registered with a new practice. During the initial check-up, I asked advice about a tooth where there was sensitivity near the gum line. The dentist told me it was due to receding gums, but that the gum could move back up to the right place after a clean from the hygienist, and switching to a special toothpaste and altering my brushing technique. Just seen the hygienist and she said receding gums could NEVER move back. This seems quite a major point for the dentist to be misinformed about.

The hygienist also told me there were a few other places where I had receding gums, which the dentist failed to mention.

The dentist also made another rather basic mistake when she was dictating the report on the state of my teeth to her assistant. She said I had none missing, when I do have one missing.

I find this slightly disturbing - could I have a duff dentist?

Yes, that does sound a little alarming..
I'd be inclined to try to speak to the dentist to sound it out a bit more but definite alarm bells that she's not on the ball

I`d find a new dentist.

I could have told you that about gums.

What else could have been missed?

My husband has had similar. Our dentist told him his teeth would outlast him. His cousin on the other hand who is a dentist says he has been told a load of crap basically and has been more or less negligent

She failed to notice a missing tooth??

That would definitely worry me!

(And the receding gums thing too - obviously)

Well the missing tooth I shrugged off as just one of those things. To be fair the teeth on either side have moved together so there is no gap - but still, what is the point of doing that status report thing they do, if they're not going to do it properly...

I am more concerned about the receding gum mistake. I was wondering if, because it's the hygienist's territory, dentists don't even try to become expert on it? A bit like when I tried to ask my GP about my baby's diet and he quite unashamedly told me the health visitor knew more about it than him.

I would really love it if a dentist or hygienist was able to comment? [hopeful]

Yes, but she should surely have noticed a missing molar/premolar or whatever!
I mean we all do tend to start out with the same number of teeth! .
I'd find it very odd for a dentist not to be able to count the four tooth types!

Apart from wisdom teeth.

Sorry about that last random phrase - I just meant that wisdom teeth are the only variable in the normal human full set of teeth!

Oh, and GPs/Medics don't generally get much specialist training in nutrition - that's why dieticians know far more than them about appropriate foods for patients etc.

Sorry - didn't mean to de-rail. Just "sharing"!

sounds like you have just seen my dentist.
My original dentist is an maternity leave and so i saw the one covering her leave. The whole visit was just wrong in so many ways....and when she announced I needed a root canal that was it. I changed dentist. (I don't need a root canal)

You need to have faith and trust in a handful of professional people and dentist are in my top 5. Where are they in yours?

It was definitely a dentist and not someone who had just wandered in off the street in a pair of marigolds and a white coat, right?

The gum can be moved back, at least partially. It is a surgical procedure called a "coronally re-positioned flap". It is complex and not very reliable, but most likely to work in those with otherwise excellent oral hygiene and gum health. Probably not worth the bother. OTOH, I would question any medical professional who states that anything "never" or "always" happens, there are exceptions to the norm....

WRT the missing tooth. Well, I think we all occasionally fail to spot one. Usually due to rushing, or occasionally for reasons outlined below. My concern with this is if the dentist is so rushed she makes this sort of mistake, what else has she not noticed?

salmo wisdom teeth are not the only variable in a normal adult dentition. What about missing 5's with retained E's. If the 8's are missing too it's easy to chart the 5 as missing space closed, the retained E as a 6 and the 6 as a 7 and the 7 as an 8, particularly if you have not yet taken rads and the Es are not infraocclusion. Likewise missing 6's where the spaces are closed without tilting (e.g with ortho or where carious 6's have been removed aged about 9) and the 8's are erupted with a conventional morphology can give the appearance of a 6 and 7 present with the 8 presumed extracted / unerupted / congenitally absent. A canine with an exaggerated cingulum can resemble a 4 especially in the lower arch. If the 4 has been extracted (or the 5 extracted or congenitally missing) this can also cause some confusion in the chart. In my first job I came across a man who had supernumery premolars and molars, in the line of the arch. Well confusing.

Thanks for the professional input bonzo. But the dentist specifically said the gum could move back after cleaning and switching toothpaste and brushing technique - not surgery. If a relative of yours experienced what I just experienced would you advise them to switch dentists? Thanks.

Well that's me told then bonzo -

Who knew that "normal" human dentition could be so variable (I'm not a dentist obviously)!!
I have no idea what an E , 5 or 6 are ...

Was it NHS or private?

I have had a dentist that was total rubbish, left chunks of filler on other teeth etc. akiss I don't think it matters whether the dentist was private or NHS. Where I live all dentists do both.

Ok, that's me told. I was just curious. I only work privately as do most of my colleagues.

parakeet I would be most surprised if the gum just grew back with a change in hygiene habits. You might well stop receding further though. As for changing dentist, that's a hard one. Was the mistake a one off? Obviously you don't know what happens in her consultations with other patients, but you should be able to build up a picture if you've seen her more than once. On a personal basis, I would find it hard to go back if I didn't trust her.

I agree keeping, it shouldn't matter whether the dentist was NHS or private. I have worked both ways, and a check up is a check up. You can't miss things either way, and your records have to be complete (I'm a pessimist, so for me the records have to be sufficient to identify a body, and adequate to defend myself in court). The big difference between NHS and private is the treatment options available once diagnoses are made.

salmo, sorry about the gobbldygook! Letters are baby teeth, numbers are adult ones. Adult teeth 1-5 replace baby ones A-E. In general is not that much variation, and some the variations themselves tend to follow patterns.

Akiss it was an NHS check-up, but she does both NHS and private work, as do most practices round here. It sounds like you are a dentist too - would you find that experience grounds for switching dentists?

Parakeet: It's very hard to say based on one comment. She did the correct thing in referring you to the hygienist for cleaning and oral hygiene instruction. Modifying your cleaning technique should prevent further recession. She didn't tell you anything wrong such as 'it's a natural part of ageing' which some older dentists still tell people.

I know I've been slated by keeping for asking whether it was NHS or private. However I only work privately and was under the impression that it's not easy to find and register with an NHS dentist. If that's not the case and it's easy for you to find another who will take you on then you could consider switching. I personally don't think what happened was bad enough to warrant that but you need to feel comfortable with her.

What I'll probably do is switch to another dentist at that practice. Thanks for answering my question, byeee.